Former West Brom midfielder Carlton Palmer has insisted that Valerien Ismael was the perfect candidate for the managerial role at the Hawthorns this summer amid the drawn-out manager search.

The Baggies struggled for a while to appoint a successor to Sam Allardyce ahead of their return to the Championship with links to various names coming and going including the likes of Chris Wilder and David Wagner.

However, in the end, it was Ismael who was handed the job of guiding the club back into the Premier League next term.

The 45-year-old has already managed to secure the arrivals of Matt Clarke and Alex Mowatt as he aims to get extra quality into his squad ahead of next term.

Those additions are quality ones and should help to play key roles in helping Ismael guide the club through a successful campaign in the Championship.

Speaking to FootballFanCast, Palmer has insisted that whilst West Brom had found finding a new manager difficult this summer they have actually ended up with a perfect fit for the job in the shape of Ismael.

He said: “West Brom struggled to entice managers to come to the football club and that’s because of the financial constraints that are going to be in place for the coming season.

“The transformation that Ismael oversaw at Barnsley was nothing less than sensational with a very small budget. I actually think it’s a perfect fit for West Brom and he will have funds available. He will have a lot more than he would have at Barnsley, so I think the future is very bright for West Brom.

“Barnsley played some very attractive football and he is a very organised, forward-thinking manager.”

The verdict

It is difficult to argue with what Palmer is saying here and it does seem that Ismael is indeed the right man at the right time for West Brom this summer.

The 45-year-old will be full of belief in his own methods after he managed to guide Barnsley to the play-offs against the odds last term and the success he had with them should give him a lot of respect amongst the players at the Hawthorns.

Given Ismael performed such a good job on a small budget at Barnsley with less quality at his disposal than West Brom have at the moment, it is easy to see him being able to get a lot of quality out of his squad at the Hawthorns.

He will also be able to instil a winning mentality that is going to be needed to transform them from a relegation side to one winning consistently.

West Brom stumbled upon Ismael really after chasing various other managers. However, in the end, it might well prove to be an excellent appointment and the perfect one for them as Palmer suggests. The only issue will be whether the 45-year-old can adapt to the extra added pressure he will be under at the Hawthorns.